Cap selector



Jan. 20, 1942. J. BELADA 2,270,713

CAP SELECTOR Filed April 6, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 mvzmon JOHN B ELA 0/2.

ATTOR S 20, 1942- J. BELADA 2, 70,713

CAP SELECTOR Filed April 6, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORN Patented Jan. 20, 1942 John Belada, Glassboro, N. 1., as'slgnor to Owens 2 Illinois Glass Company, a corporation of Ohio Application April 6, 1940, Serial at. 323,309 1 2 Claims. (01. rea -s3) p The present invention relates to closure handling apparatus and more particularly to an apparatus for automatically selecting and arranging bottle caps or the like for further manufacturing operations. i

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for separating caps fed at ranv dom from a hopper in irregularvoppositely facing relation so that they are delivered open-sideup to a horizontal conveyor for additional operations.

Another object of the invention is the provision of novel means fordiverting oppositely facing caps into separate channels while in an on-edge position.

Another object is the provision of a cap selector and separator adapted to receive bottle caps in a vertical on-edge position and deliver them by gravity to a horizontal conveyor open-side up preparatory to having liners inserted therein.

Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the apparatus embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a partial plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a partial plan view including the selecting mechanism.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along line 4-4 of Fig. 3. v

Fig. 5 is a similar view illustrating a slightly advanced step in the selecting operation.

In the manufacture of bottle and jar closures the caps pass through many stages of development formerly necessitating much manual hhndling between steps in the manufacturing operation. Mechanism has been devised from time to time with the idea of eliminating as far as possible, manual labor in the handling of closures. The present invention is adapted for. use in operations requiring the caps to be faced in one direction, particularly for the application of liners wherein the caps lie open-side up on a belt and are fed in that manner to the liner machine or to a zone in which the liners are inserted manually. The caps may be placed in bulk in a conventional hopper H .(Fig. 1) to which the present invention is shown attached.

Generally, the device includes a trough I or chute adjustably supported on legs 9 in an inclined position so that the caps are fed therethrough by gravity. The lower end of the trough overlies one end of a horizontal conveyor C to which the caps are delivered. The trough 8 comprises a pair of spaced parallel side plates l0 and I l secured together by spacing-:membersi-H.

A strip ll secured to the inner -sideoIfthe-plate ll forms a partialbottom'iwall fora channel l4 therein. Caps l6 are-dischargedfrom the hopper .H on edge and in random facing relation; into the channel I! which extends substantially'the' half of the lengthofthe trough.

A pair of opposed star shapedselettqr separating wheels i4 and i1 lare 'mounted orabrackets upper l8 secured outwardly .of the plates l0 and adjacent the lower end of the channel I4. The wheels are adapted to rotate about axes perpendicular to the bottom of the channel, the pointed rims of the wheels projecting into the channel through slots it in the side plates. The bottom strip i3 is provided on the upper surface of its lower unattached corner with a cut-out or depressed area 20 into which certain of the caps roll during movement to a lower channel 22 as will become apparent presently.

The side plate II is offset outwardly at the wheel I! thereby increasing the width of the channel l4 and a partition plate 2! is disposed therein to form channels 22 and 23, the channel 22 being in effect a prolongation of the main channel I4. A strip 24 secured to the plate lil substantially below the level of the strip i3 and parallel therewith, forms the bottom wall of the channel 22. A separating bar 26, the upper edge of which islevel with the top of the strip 13, is

secured to the partition 2i and bottom wall 2'! of the channel 23 and extends between the partition and the strip 13.

As the caps l5 approach the star wheels l6 and i1 (Figs. 3, 4, and 5) the open side or mouth thereof may face either of the walls M or II. As illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the cap it its open side faces the upper wheel It, has by gravity rolled- The caps with the open side facing the wall ll roll along the strip i3 and are engaged by the star wheel i6 (Fig. 5) which holds each cap in close proximity to said wall as it reaches the end of the strip l3. Caps having anoutwardly turned wire edge, have a natural tendency to lean away from the edge while rolling, due to the It will thus be apparent that the caps will roll with the edge in or near the comer formed by the wall II and strip l3 and in that manner will override the depressed area 20 in the end of the strip. The wall II is curved outwardly to form the offset portion thereof and the channel 23 and also to enable the wheel It to move the cap to the dotted line position in Fig. 3. The bottom wall 21 terminates short of the curved side wall H and the end is cut at an angle to the bar 2| to form a cam surface 28 against which the wire edge of the cap bears as the cap is directed into the channel 13 by the wheel ii. The caps are thus "sorted" into separate groups before being discharged from the trough and turned over on the conveyor.

The partition 2i extends beyond the lower ends of thewalls I I and H over the conveyor and is provided on each side with cams ll for positively turning the caps onto their closed sides.

The bottom edge of each cam curves outwardly to a position nearly parallel with the top or the conveyor and presents a curved sloping surface from the lower edge to the top of the partition.

Thus as the caps leave the chute they are turned outwardly from the bottom and tall open-side onthe moving conveyor belt.

Modifications may be resorted to within the spiritandmpeotthesppendedclahnsr 1. Apparatus of the character described comprising an inclined chute, a pair of parallel ad- J'acent channels connected to the lower end of the chute, one of said channels being disposed in a lower plane throughout its length than but parallel to the other channel and said chute, a pair of star wheels freely rotatable substantially in the plane of the chute and having fingers Projecting into the chute from opposite sides thereof substantially at the juncture of the chute and channels, and cams at the lower end of the channels for changing the position of articles as they are discharged from the latter.

2. Apparatus of the character described comprising an inclined chute, a pair of parallel ad- Jacent channels connected to the lower end of the chute, one of said channels being disposed in a lower plane throughout its length than, but

parallel to the other channel and said chute, a

P ir of star wheels freely rotatable substantially in the plane of the chute and having fingers projecting into the chute from opposite sides thereofsubstantially at the juncture of the chute and channels, a horizontal conveyor in proximity to the lower end of the chute and cam arranged at the lower end of said channels for changing the position of the articles as they are discharged from the latter and placing them in two parallel longitudinal rows upon the conveyor.

J OHN BELADA. 

